In a significant 48-hour drop in support, New York State voters say 46 - 42 percent that Gov.
David Paterson should finish his term rather than resign, according to a Quinnipiac University
poll released today. Another 12 percent are undecided.

Today's finding is a substantial drop from the 61 - 31 percent support for Gov. Paterson
serving out the year in a March 3 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack)
University.

In this latest survey of 1,325 voters conducted March 3 and 4, 45 percent of women say
Paterson should stay and 40 percent say he should resign. Men say 47 - 44 percent that he
should stay. Black voters want the Governor to stay 55 - 36 percent, while white voters are split
44 - 44 percent.

Voters disapprove 61 - 21 percent of the job Gov. Paterson is doing. This is the lowest
approval rating ever recorded for an elected official in 18 years of Quinnipiac University polling
except for former President George W. Bush and former Sen. Robert Torricelli of New Jersey,
who had approval ratings of 18 and 19 percent just before they left office.

"Support for Gov. David Paterson erodes with every new headline. New York State
voters started the week giving the Governor the benefit of the doubt 2-1. Now, there is more
doubt and less benefit as he clings to a bare plurality of support," said Maurice Carroll, director
of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Voters surveyed Monday and Tuesday were in favor of keeping Paterson by a net 30
points. On Wednesday and Thursday, voter support was a net four points. That's a 26-point
drop in two days."

"President George W. Bush and Sen. Robert Torricelli may have lower grades than
Paterson, but both of them were on their way out the door," Carroll added.

New York State voters say 37 - 32 percent that Paterson would do a better job than Lt.
Gov. Richard Ravitch for the rest of the year, with 31 percent undecided. This compares to a
47 - 29 percent vote for Paterson March 3.

Paterson and the State Legislature will not be able to work together on a state budget,
voters say 64 - 26 percent.

"By more than a 2-1 margin, voters have a bad feeling about the outcome of Albany's
historically tortuous budget negotiations," Carroll said. "We didn't even bother to ask about the
prospects of getting a budget by the April 1 deadline."

New York State voters say 47 - 43 percent that the State Constitution should be
amended so the Governor can name a Lt. Governor when that position becomes vacant.

From March 3 - 4, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,325 New York State registered
voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and
nationwide as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
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1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way David Paterson is handling his job as
Governor?